Sunday, November 23, 2008

A few weeks ago I promised Marcus's little brother a birthday cake. Somehow I got it into my head that I could make him a car cake. Now, when I went to look for a car cake pan I could only find one kind. I was a little late in delivering, but today he received this:

Yes, a Lightning McQueen cake, as in the character from the kids movie Cars. I should disclose that Marcus's "little brother" actually turned 20, but he's into cars like my love so I thought it was appropriate. It took me a good two hours to do it, but I think it turned out alright. I also made Marcus's brother promise not to tell me if it tasted bad after I went through all that effort making it look cute!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

So one of the many friends (or just people I know) having babies this winter had a baby shower this past weekend. It was an interesting shower altogether. It had a Mad Hatter (yes from Alice in Wonderland) theme, and was a little out there in some ways. But, the mother and father to be couldn't be happier, which is all that matters. Anyway, I set out a few weeks ago to create a baby blanket to honor this event. However, when I finished I realized I was a little off in my dimensions:

Obviously not very practical given it's very wide but not very long, or vice versa. So, I thought, what if I just fold it here (and with some inspiration from my boy) keep wrapping around, sewing it together at every cross section I'd wind up with this:

Monday, November 10, 2008

So in all the excitement of the election (!!!!!) I almost forgot about my promise to share the second part of my home improvement project. I'm sure I left many of you on the edge of your seat in suspense. To provide a little context, those of you who saw my place in Albany will remember the constant damage being done by Rascal to my plastic mini-blinds. That problem was eventually solved by putting a hand me down curtain up. Unfortunately, that curtain didn't cover the window immediately behind our bed that both cats like to climb into in the middle of the night making lots of noise and breaking the blinds. So, rather just spend the money, I give you my own blinds:

I know, making curtains is not that difficult. You just hem three sides evenly then sew down the top leaving enough room for the rod, check. The challenge here was the fabric I picked out. Needing something Marcus and I could both agree on (meaning not too girly) was difficult, and I wanted something dark enough that I didn't have to line the curtains. So, we picked out this really nice silk home decor fabric, SILK. That was the challenge. Oh, and these curtains are two panels, to make it easier to open them and easier for the cats to get in. Another challenge: making two even panels. Now all I have to do is get my behind in gear and make the matching set for the other window!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I'd like to take a break from our regularly scheduled (well more like sporadic) posting to be a little serious. I know that saying this to the people that read this blog is a bit like preaching to the choir, but here it is anyway: If you do nothing else today, please get out and VOTE.

I don't get patriotic and touchy feely about many things, but I do believe in this. We have not only a right and privilege to exercise by voting, but a duty. Not only did countless numbers die to protect our rights, but countless others have also died in other lands seeking the very opportunity so many of us take for granted. Honor all those whose voice has been taken, lost, or suppressed. Speak for them, VOTE.

Further, clearly we are in a time of turmoil. As a young women I know worry about things I never thought I'd have after growing up in prosperous times: will I be able to buy a house, send future children to college, keep a job, have health insurance, and someday retire comfortably? The decisions of a few have left the majority of us to figure out how to pick up the pieces, and I, my children, and grandchildren will suffer the consequences. Take charge of your future, VOTE.

Obviously, I have a strong preference of just who you should vote for, but that's not what this post is about. I still hear far too many people saying they just don't care, or just don't get it when it comes to elections. Maybe the end results won't be what I want or what you want, but we have a way to voice our opinions, and to throw away that opportunity is just a shame. Express yourself, VOTE.

To sum up, I leave you with a thought from George Bernard Shaw:

"Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve."

We deserve the best: intelligence, hope, protection from external threats, and help for those less fortunate. We deserve better than what the 8 past years have provided. No matter who you think will provide that society, VOTE.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

So in an effort to personalize our anonymous ikea furniture I decided to add some pillows to the couch. Nothing fancy mind you, and I really only made them because I was too cheap to cough up money for all the expensive ones at Pier 1 and Pottery Barn. I also had to wait for some home decor fabric that I actually liked to go on sale at JoAnn's. So, once that happened I was able to produce this:

Now I know what you're thinking, anyone can sew a square and stuff an insert into it . . . very true. See, what I'm most impressed with here is something you can't even see in the pictures, ZIPPERS!!! That's right, I put zippers on the the bottom of the pillow so they're just like the ones you buy in the store. I can switch out the cover for others I make when I get more adventurous, find other fabric I like on sale, or just get bored. It was a minor feat, but I'd never worked with zippers before so I was pretty pleased with how they came out. It took a little navigating to figure out how to sew on the zipper so it wouldn't show and how to use the machine while there was a zipper pull in the way.